I was looking around for a hand-and-a-half "bastard" sword roughly in line with George Silver's ideals—less than 3 pounds, with a blade roughly 36" long. Does anyone have any suggestions? I think the Arms and Armour English Longsword (http://www.myArmoury.com/review_aa_els.html) comes quite close, but I'd love to hear some more learned opinions

This brings me to the topic of my post: Is there a sparring equivalent of the English Longsword?
[edit: The title of this post was originally "Sparring equivalent for the English longsword"]

I'm considering Albion's Meyer (http://www.myArmoury.com/review_alb_meyer.html), but although the specs are not quite the same—about 6 oz heavier, a ~3 inch longer blade, ~3 inch longer handle, and a CoG and CoP that differ by about ~2-3 inches—I'm uncertain how much of a difference it'd make.

Thanks for your time!

Last edited by Vincent K on Wed 25 Apr, 2012 11:00 am; edited 2 times in total

-Hm, thanks for the tip....I'll have to carefully remeasure my "ideal" blade length as prescribed by Silver when I get home, as it seems to vary a bit depending on how much I open my shoulders.

-I guess the better question would be: What would be a good hand-and-a-half "bastard" sparring sword roughly in line with George Silver's ideals?
-I'd like it to be light enough to be used either one handed or two handed, and for the trainer to have an equivalent "live/sharp" version.

-The Meyer (with the Earl as the "live" version) seems like it might work, but I couldn't find anything about how the Meyer handles in one hand.
-Also the reviews I've read seem to indicate that the Earl is a tad on the heavy side for one handed maneuvers.

If you're looking for a good longsword trainer, the Albion Meyer is an excellent choice. It has just enough flex to be safe without being whippy, and the weight and balance work well for longsword. It's also very durable.

It actually isn't too bad in one hand. Longswords in general tend to be at a mild disadvantage when used one-handed since they're designed with two hands in mind, but the Meyer performs well enough that this works.-Ed T. Toton III
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If about 36" is what you're looking for, I recommend the spada da zogho from A&A.

Doesn't look like much, but it feels more like a sharp sword than the meyer does, in my opinion. That being said, I believe the blade on the meyer is probably safer for at speed sparring. The one I handled had a slightly thicker blade than what's being sold now though, so results may vary.

I loved the way the zogho felt though. It felt good one handed as well as two, and transitioned well between the two. Of all the longsword trainers I've handled, the zogho has been my favorite.Honor, compassion, knowledge.

@Ed: Thanks! Would you happen to know how a Meyer compares to a Hanwei Federschwert? From what I've been able to find, the Meyer "feels" more realistic, but the Hanwei is safer for sparring.... except that they sometimes break badly.

I've heard that the newer Gen 2s are slightly better than the first batch of Gen 2s, which are in turn better than the Gen 1s, but the complaints I've read are not encouraging indeed, especially when safety is supposedly their selling point.

Thanks for the rec! I'll definitely take a look at it, although at that weight, I may end up deferring to the Meyer.

I have the Hanwei Bastard. It is sturdy, down to its beefy tang but no way is it one handable.

You can let go of the pommel to move into abrazare but its to heavy to actually try a handed strike with. Its 50" long and weighs 3lb 10oz.

Also I find the harmonics wonky. It doesn't bother some but I notice it.

All in all its a solid piece for less than two bills, but you get what you pay for."We do not rise to the level of our expectations. We fall to the level of our training" Archilochus, Greek Soldier, Poet, c. 650 BC

On a slight tangent, this lovely custom A&A sword was specifically designed to function well in both one and two hands. I hadn't noticed that piece before, but I'm enchanted. Wooden handles appeal to me.Read my historically inspired fantasy fiction in here. I walk along a winding path set by Ludovico Ariosto, William Morris, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Ursula Le Guin.

Out of doubt, out of dark to the day's rising
I came singing in the sun, sword unsheathing.
To hope's end I rode and to heart's breaking:
Now for wrath, now for ruin and a red nightfall!

On a slight tangent, this lovely custom A&A sword was specifically designed to function well in both one and two hands. I hadn't noticed that piece before, but I'm enchanted. Wooden handles appeal to me.

Hm, those blade specs looks nice, especially the weight Also, the slightly shorter blade might be useful as when I remeasured my "ideal" length, it was a bit closer to 35" than 36". I'm awful at recognizing blade types though... any idea what it might be?

Also, does anyone have any thoughts on the CAS Hanwei Practical Blade Hand-and-a-Half Sword?

@Ed: Thanks! Would you happen to know how a Meyer compares to a Hanwei Federschwert? From what I've been able to find, the Meyer "feels" more realistic, but the Hanwei is safer for sparring.... except that they sometimes break badly.

Yes, the Meyer is much more realistic and more sturdy, whereas the "Federschwert" is very light and flexible, almost whippy. The latter is pretty safe to fence with because of how light and flexible they are, though as you've noted they've had problems with breaking.

With the Federschwert, you can get away with a lot less padding or body-armor than with more serious steel simulators like the Albion Meyer or A&A Fechterspiel, so it's more accommodating for high speed bouting without a ton of gear. However some of the actions in the bind may be more difficult since the blades may bend around each other. So I see them as a cost-effective alternative for beginners, or as a lightweight alternative when you want to ramp up your speed.

Vincent K wrote:

Also, does anyone have any thoughts on the CAS Hanwei Practical Blade Hand-and-a-Half Sword?

It has fairly thin edges, so you have to watch your speed and power. I find that it works better as a single-hand sword than as a longsword. For single-handed use, it actually has a fairly light and balanced feel, even compared to their single-hand practical trainer. For two-handed use, the grip isn't quite large enough, and the blade is shorter than most longsword trainers, so it's slightly awkward, but not too bad as a starter sword.-Ed T. Toton III
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